Innholdsfortegnelse for August 2022 i AW - Athletics Weekly Magazine

AUGUST 2022 AW Editorial Director With our flight home delayed, there was time for myself and a few colleagues to pick over some of the bones of what had just unfolded before us during 10 eventful days at the World Championships of Oregon 2022. As we chatted in Portland airport, the moments which kept springing to mind were those which involved the sport in its rawest form - where the goal is so simple, the effort is so monumental, the spectacle so visceral, you feel you can almost reach out and touch it. A prime example came early in the schedule, with the women's 1500m final. So rarely is a championships contest run in the full-on, eyeballs-out-from-the-gun, survival-of-the-fittest fashion which played out at Hayward Field that this truly was a…

NEWS World Athletics’ plans to introduce an extra repechage round, replacing qualification places via fastest losers’ spots, in some individual track events for the Paris 2024 Olympics has been met with consternation by a number of people in the sport. The plan will apply to the 200m to 1500m events, including the hurdles, and means that athletes who do not qualify automatically in the heats will have a second chance to qualify for the semi-finals by participating in a repechage round. The format for Paris 2024, where the athletics action will take place from August 1-11, will therefore be: round one, repechage round, semi-finals and the final. However, it has been pointed out that those athletes that get through the repechage will have less time to prepare for the subsequent…

INTERVIEW JAMIE BAULCH Did you prefer to represent Great Britain or Wales? I've got to be careful about what I say here now because it's a British audience, right? Wales every day of the week! The reason for that, and I'm a very passionate Welsh person, is that putting on that red vest for Wales was incredible. I never got to put it on in rugby and I went to a lot of rugby games. To put that red vest on, you get an amazing feeling of pride. Obviously, I loved competing for Team GB at the Olympics and that was sensational but I think the Commonwealth Games for me were the ones where you got to represent your country. I actually preferred the Commonwealths over the Olympics because they were…

WORLD ATHETICS CHAMPIONSHIP OREGON 22 INFLUENCING AMERICA If the USA is the land of opportunity, then Oregon 2022 represented the laying of groundwork for the sport of athletics to potentially seize some Stateside chances in the coming years. The first staging of the World Championships in the home of the stars and stripes fired the starting gun on the journey towards the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics - and the sport's global governing body is determined to have raised track and field's profile markedly in the country by then. How much of a dent did this event make on the American consciousness? Host broadcaster NBC pointed towards a 65 per cent leap in terms of viewing figures across their TV and online platforms, with a total of 18.7 million for the…

Jake Wightman “I was pretty confident I could finish this career with some sort of global medal and that's what I've been driven by since 2017. Whatever happens now, I'm a world champion.” Geoff Wightman “We didn't put a lot of pressure on him. Susan coached him until he was 16 and I coached him after that from 2010. It's been a pretty steady progression. He's had a few injuries, he's had a few disappointments but year on year he's continued to improve. “He does have a very good racing brain and a good competitive temperament for the big occasion. He won the European Juniors in 2013 in Rieti and off the back of that I thought ‘if he can handle those occasions then that will stand him in good…

MUNICH 2022 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS We're not done yet. This head-spinning summer hurtles on as the circus of athletics championships pitches up in Munich for another helping of top-class continental competition. The European Championships might not always be the most celebrated event on the calendar, or always get the recognition it quite deserves, but as Steve Smythe's feature on p50 highlights, special things tend to happen at the showpiece which was first hosted in Torino in 1934. You only need to go back to the previous edition four years ago in Berlin, for example, to find Jakob Ingebrigtsen first announcing his talent by winning the 1500m and 5000m double as a 17-year-old. And we've all seen what he has accomplished since then. “I think I'm very similar to how I was in…

What made London 2012 so special? This was our home Games so nothing can compare. London was different because three things were done incredibly well. Firstly, athletes were doing incredible things. We could train like professionals with access to the same coaching, nutrition and psych as able-bodied athletes. In the past, several athletes didn't have the funding to train 30,40 hours a week so people weren't seeing and responding to their performances. The second factor was that we had sponsorship. Businesses stepped up and saw the value in para sport and its narrative. No, money isn't everything, but you need it to access the best coaching and technology. The third thing was finally having media coverage. The public can't love what they don't know about. I think if BBC had…

To say that the running footwear market has burst into life in recent years would be something of an understatement. All of the biggest brands now have vast resources devoted solely to finding that groundbreaking edge, the extra dimension that will make the difference in terms of providing a platform for athletic excellence. We have perhaps seen the next game changer. During the World Championships in Eugene, ASICS unveiled the ACTIBREEZE 3D sandal - a product which flips the thinking around to place the focus first on recovery. “We are supporting elite athletes and competition is of course very important but, with so much training involved too, sometimes getting the right recovery is more important than the race itself,” says Genki Hatano, Lead Researcher at the Future Creation Dept, ASICS…

TRACK & FIELD WORLD ATHLETICS CHAMPIONSHIPS, Eugene, July 15-24 Men: 100 (-0.1): 1 Fred Kerley USA 9.86; 2 Marvin Bracy USA 9.88; 3 Trayvon Bromell USA 9.88; 4 O Seville JAM 9.97; 5 A Simbine RSA 10.01; 6 C Coleman USA 10.01; 7 A Sani Brown JPN 10.06; 8 A Brown CAN 10.07. SF2 (0.1): 1 Kerley 10.02; 3 ZHARNEL HUGHES GBR 10.13. Ht 2 (0.1): 1 Kerley 9.79; 2 HUGHES 9.97. Ht 4 (0.2): 4 REECE PRESCOD GBR 10.15 200 (0.4): 1 Noah Lyles USA 19.31 (rec); 2 Kenny Bednarek USA 19.77; 3 Erriyon Knighton USA 19.80; 4 J Fahnbulleh LBR 19.84; 5 A Ogando DOM 19.93; 6 J Richards TTO 20.08; 7 A Brown CAN 20.18; 8 L Adams RSA 20.47. SF1 (0.4): 4 NETHANEEL MITCHELL-BLAKE GBR 20.30.…

DIP FINISH Pans to create an athletics museum at the Olympic Park at Stratford following the 2012 Games never happened. There are museums in the UK for pencils, dog collars, witchcraft and magic, but there has been nothing for athletics despite its amazing history and place in the nation's heart. A number of athletics enthusiasts, including members of the National Union of Track Statisticians (NUTS), have taken the matter into their own hands, however, and have quietly assembled a brilliant collection of track and field memorabilia in the British capital. For a while the items were privately housed in Cobham Hall in Kent but they have now been moved to Coombe Wood School in Croydon and will soon be available to be viewed by the public. This national athletics archive…

DIGEST PICTURE THIS The final act of the 2022 World Athletics Championships in Oregon saw the remarkable Mondo Duplantis break his pole vault record once again. After aborting his first attempt, the American-born Swede soared over the bar at 6.21m at the second time of asking with room to spare and leaving little doubt that he can go substantially higher in future. It was the fifth world record of the 22-year-old's career and the 48th time he had cleared six metres - which broke the previous best by Sergey Bubka.…

DIGEST Having been created little over a decade ago, The Daily Mile now takes place in 14,000 schools from 87 countries. More than three million children run a mile a day as part of the initiative. From humble beginnings at a primary school in Stirling, Scotland, it has become a global phenomenon when it comes to promoting health and wellbeing in youngsters. Its growth is fast-paced and relentless, too. In mid-April, The Daily Mile announced a partnership with the World Athletics Championships Oregon22 and, since then, more than 900 schools in the United States have signed up to the concept. Those championships in Eugene proved a good opportunity to hold a celebratory lunch to reflect on the success of The Daily Mile. Among those in attendance were World Athletics president…

MY GREATEST RACE COLIN JACKSON The Welshman struck global gold in Germany with the ultimate bonus - a world record of 12.91 - to justify his self-belief My buld-up to these championships was pretty flawless, really. It went from two years previously, when I had no injuries at all during the winters. That's such a blessing and over 1991,1992 and 1993,1 had an 18-month block of training that really made a difference. My only problem ahead of the Worlds was when I had to pull out of the Weltklasse meeting in Switzerland because I damaged my back. I had to leave Zurich to come home and get treatment, but that was the only thing that that went wrong during that whole World Championships campaign. I felt I was the favourite. Literally,…

Tobi's record-breaking triumph The headline news of the women's 100m hurdles was written in the first semi-final, when Tobi Amusan destroyed the world record with a run of 12.12 (0.9) to chop 0.08 from Keni Harrision's previous mark. The Nigerian came out on top again in the final as she clocked 12.06 and Jamaican Britany Anderson managed 12.23, the same time awarded to bronze medallist Jasmine Camacho-Quinn. The wind reading of 2.5 meant there would be no more world records, however. Amusan's choice of footwear - she competed in an adidas middle-distance spike - drew attention but she said: “My abilities are not centred around spikes. I knew I had it in me but I could not believe it when I saw it on the screen after the semis.” Queen…

MUNICH 2022 LEIF OLAV ALNES What comes next when you've done it all? That's the very question which coach Leif Olav Alnes posed to his most renowned athlete, Karsten Warholm, not so long ago. At the time the Norwegian was the 400m hurdles European champion, a two-time world champion, the Olympic champion and the world record-holder. “I said to him: ‘When you have won everything, you have three choices',” says Alnes. “You could quit, but I would recommend you don't do that, unless you find a new passion in life, because you're not going to find anything that matches the experiences you have had in the last few years. “You could chase the money but that's the same thing, actually - you'll need to find a new love because it's not…

HIGH-PROTEIN DIETS MAY HINDER PERFORMANCE Highly trained endurance athletes were shown to display “microbial instability” in their gut when they followed even a short-term high protein diet, report researchers from Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) in the American Society for Microbiology's journal mSystems. This gut disturbance was accompanied by a 23.3 per cent drop in time trial performance on a treadmill test, says Justin Roberts, associate professor in Health and Exercise Nutrition at ARU and co-author of the study Conversely, when athletes followed a short-term, high-carb diet, their time trial performance was boosted by 6.5 per cent. Roberts and his team assessed microbiome imbalance by analysing the diversity and altered composition of the gut, as well as monitoring levels of viruses and bacteria present. In some people gut disturbance can cause…

The ACTIBREEZE 3D Sandal grabs your attention simply because of the way it looks. Its distinctive appearance immediately sets it apart and the first thing that comes to mind when you take it out of the box is “what will this feel like on my foot?” The answer is comfortable. Extremely comfortable. From afar, you would be forgiven for thinking these sandals would be rigid, but the opposite is true. The parametrically designed structure provides zonal comfort and protection, while the open lattice 3D structure means the sandal doesn't retain moisture. In tests foot temperature and humidity proved to be lower than conventional designs. The wider base means a stable platform for the foot and further enhances the fit and feel of the sandal, making it comfortable for extended after…

Spectators deserve better Your article Time to tell stories in the July issue rightly highlighted the poor attendance at the UKA Championships in Manchester. As a regular attendee at these championships and most major UK events, both indoor and outdoor, together with many overseas events, I was dismayed at the complete lack of thought given to the few spectators that did attend. This was the UK Championships, the major domestic event that was doubling up as trials for die World Championships, the European Championships and results would have an impact on Commonwealth Game team selections. It was beyond belief that there was not, as is usually the case, a screen to inform spectators of the start list for each event, the ability to see replays and, most importantly, die results…

DIGEST Athletics will return to the Olympic stadium in London next year as the new UK Athletics chief executive Jack Buckner sets about the task of waking a sport he describes as being a “sleeping giant”. Among the 60-year-old's priorities are getting the governing body's finances back on track, rebuilding trust in the sport and getting televised top-level athletics back to the British capital and on to the BBC regularly. As a result, the 2023 Diamond League meeting is to be staged at the Stratford venue. Why is London important? “Apart from being the biggest centre of population it has the clubs, athletes, history, heritage,” says Buckner. “It's important domestically for the sport and I think it's important conceptually because if you go anywhere in international sport then everyone wants…

DIGEST VERITY OCKENDEN Leading into this year's World Championships, much of the gossip in Track Town had not only revolved around the usual speculation over record-breaking medal prospects, but increasingly the post-NCAA flux of collegiate signings along with a late-season surge in new athlete-brand partnerships. Indeed, some athletes were competing in their new sponsor's shoes for the very first time on this prestigious world stage. For a small proportion of them, despite having been conducting themselves with workmanlike dedication for years in order to reach this level of competition, they have been making - or are about to make - their debut as a professional athlete this season. Personally, at the grand age of 30,I am approaching the close of my first year of paid sponsorship. It has not been my…

A hot topic of conversation and debate during the World Championships in Oregon centred around how to attract more people towards athletics. A number of strategies have either been employed or are being considered in terms of growing the sport and its audience, but there was one method which proved to be highly effective in Eugene last month. Moments after the men's marathon field had set off in search of global domination, another group of runners assembled on the very same start line to see if they could realise their own running ambitions. They were there to participate in the ASICS Uplift Oregon 5k, brainchild of the global shoe brand and World Athletics partner, which saw hundreds of runners being given the chance to share part of the same course…

PUMA XX NITRO WOMEN'S RUNNING SHOES UK.Puma.com £105 While the majority of shoes we try are available in both men's and women's options or a unisex fit, this is a women's specific model. As such it's built on a unique last to provide a fit that hugs a female foot at the heel, instep and arch. A new version of the brand's NITRO foam provides a great combination of cushioning and guidance to keep the foot centred through each stride. At this price it's also great value for such a highly engineered model.…

Max Burgin was diagnosed with DVT [deep vein thrombosis]. What is it, how do you get it and how quickly can you recover from it? In your body you have deep veins and they are like little tubs that feed the blood from the muscles back up to the heart, rather than arteries that send it the other way. Those deep veins can get a blood clot and that's when material gets stuck there which blocks the vein and it can be a bit painful. It can get hot and can also be irritated as you can get blood pooling. Obviously, at the far end this can be a medical emergency because if that clot gets to the heart it can form catastrophic issues. How can you get it? Well,…

Answers in the September issue of AW JULY ANSWERS: 1 59, 2 2 Cycling (C4-5 category), 3 He became the first British track and field athlete to win a medal at six consecutive Paralympic Games, 4 Jamaica, 5 577, 6 Long jump (1950, 1954), discus (1954) and shot put (1954). She also won a silver in javelin, 7 The weight of such a wheelchair is 8-10kg and the length is around 170-185cm, 8 It must be included in the programme at every Games, 9 The four Commonwealth champions are: Akani Simbine (South Africa) - men's 100m, Brandon Stare (Australia) - men's high jump, Shauna Miller-Uibo (Bahamas) - women's 200m, Hollie Arnold (Wales) - F46 Javelin, 10 Hannah Cockroft MBE…

FIXTURES AUGUST 13 • Midland Counties Track and Field League Various midland-athletics.co.uk • Northern U13/U15/U17 Championships Liverpool • South of England U13/U15/U17 Championships Chelmsford • Southern Athletics League Various southernathletics.co.uk AUGUST 13-14 • 4J Studios scottishathletics National Senior Championships Aberdeen scottisathletics.org.uk AUGUST 15-21 • European Athletics Championships Munich european-athletics.org AUGUST 17 • Welsh Athletics U20 International Swansea welshathletics.org AUGUST 20 • National Athletics League Various nationalathkticsleague.org.uk • Nothern Ireland 10,000m and Relay Championships Belfast athleticsni.org AUGUST 21 • National Athletics League Bedford nationalathleticsleague.org.uk AUGUST 23 • BMC Gold Standard Races Stretford bntishmilersclub.com AUGUST 26 • Lausanne Diamond League diamondleague.com AUGUST 27-28 • England Athletics U15 & U17 Championships Bedford englandathletics.org • 4J Studios scottishathletics U13/U15/U20 Championships Grangemouth scottisathletics.org.uk • Loughboroush Grand Prix britishmilersclub.com AUGUST 28 • Antrim Coast Half Marathon…